“I used to come here just to get my hair cut and maybe go to Macy’s,” said shopper Will Young. “But as far as shopping at one of the stores on the interior, I don’t go there very much. I would rather go somewhere else.”

Much of the decline has been because big name stores like the Gap and Lord and Taylor have also gone elsewhere. To get the 51-acre area back on its feet, Val Hawkins is working with Alexandria and developer General Growth Properties to create a shopping, residential and commercial space that will cost about $400 million.

“It’s going to be walkable, it will be fun, it will be an experience that people will come and they’ll be able to shop and enjoy the area,” said Hawkins, President of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership. “It will combine the best of Shirlington and Tysons and Pentagon City.”

The plans have actually been complete since early 2009, but that’s also when the developer went bankrupt. Development plans are expected to get back on track after General Growth Properties emerges from reorganization in two weeks.

“When I was a young kid it used to be an outside mall and it was just as nice then as it is now,” said shopper Michael White. “If they can make it any better it would be a plus for everyone.”